Living here in Australia, a country that is ironically surrounded by water, with a bloody great desert in the middle and frequently parched by drought, I now take it for granted that I need to carry a good amount of drinking water on hikes (bushwalks) and need to know how to treat drinking water that I gather along the way.
http://youtu.be/fvn9-jcHcvQ
I got a surprise when I received a … [Read more...]

You know those How-To videos you find that seem to fall into the bleeding obvious category? How to Wash Dishes with (believe it or not) over 855,000 views?
Well, in some way, I feel this one falls into that category, but I hope that you'll pardon my indulgence as a tidy person, who always used to get frustrated with my messy raincoat and wished someone would show me how to roll a rain … [Read more...]

There's something about sliding into a canyon and feeling it's ancient green embrace that makes me feel like Frodo. As the walls climb higher around me and the water calls me forward to join it tumbling over boulders, sliding down ropes and committing my life to 9mm of confidence, I can't help but feel that I've entered natures cathedral, where secrets, whispers and sacred moment are … [Read more...]

I have this thing for outdoor retailers. I know I'm not alone. Like your annoying Facebook friend (we all have one) who’s mesmerised by the colours of Candy Crush and keeps sending you invites, I too am drawn to the bright colours of outdoors shops and when it comes to finding the right clothes for hiking, it's inevitable that we will all be drawn to these Meccas at one time or … [Read more...]

I've always got a handful or two of scroggin in my pack, along with muesli bars as snacks when I'm hiking. Then I came across this recipe from the lovely folk at Mediterranean Market in Queenstown, NZ for Scroggin Cookies (ie. Biscuits) and thought I'd give it a whirl.
I decided to change the recipe a bit to reduce the amount of sugar and they turned out a treat! Delicious, easy, quick and … [Read more...]

How not to be another missing bushwalker!
Here in Australia, we've jumped head-first into Spring time which means that not only are the wildflowers coming out in abundance in our National Parks, but so too are hikers, that's bushwalkers to us Aussies! Therefore, it seems like a good time to cover off some of the basic preparation that everyone should do before heading out on an adventure, to … [Read more...]

As some of you know, I love the concept of the tiny house movement. It was through this interest that I met Christina Nellemann of the Tiny Yellow Teardrop Blog. She is also a keen hiker and I was delighted to hear how Lotsafreshair helped get her out into the amazing wilderness of the USA again. She has kindly shared her story with us here in this guest post.
After an evening of beers, my … [Read more...]

There's something wonderful about snuggling down into your sleeping bag at the end of an active day on the track.
But for ages I used to struggle with cold feet keeping me awake. I'm talking numb, aching ice-blocks attached to the end of my legs, kind of cold. Even though the rest of me was warm, for some reason I just couldn't get my tootsies to be toasty. After a few experiments and … [Read more...]

Any mathematician, engineer or architect will tell you that numbers are beautiful.
There's something pure, absolute and precise about them. There's also something staggering about the infinite way they just exist.
http://youtu.be/ztzNh4bzL_M?list=UU885b3fcSEShQdz6-v8KwLg
Numbers help us define things and in a world where things seem out of control and in chaos, numbers bring order and … [Read more...]

Now even though I've proved myself a bit of a fan when it comes to having a good excuse to stop and catch my breath on the track, I'm even more of a fan of finding ways to deal with annoying little things that happen when hiking, namely... having your shoelaces continually come undone.
Trust me, I'd tried everything! Double knot, triple knot and even the running shoe technique of lock laces*. … [Read more...]